4 Ingredients for a Great Post-Event Follow Up

"Paint a destination for them during the talk, and then use follow-up emails, articles, and videos to provide the steps needed to get there." Is there anything more satisfying than absolutely killing a live presentation? The audience gave you a standing ovation, the participants couldn’t wait to shake your hand and say thanks, and the energy in the room was palpable. Your words resonated big time, and everyone is ready to get out and start their new lives. But does all that enthusiasm really mean anything if you’re not teaching them how to implement your great ideas? There are plenty of speakers who are happy to take people’s money, whip them into a motivational frenzy, and let them figure out the gritty details of making a change on their own. Technically, there’s nothing wrong with this approach. But if you want people to act on what you’ve taught them—not to mention build a long-term client base—you need to take on more responsibility for your audience’s follow-through. When people see their lives improve because of your methods, you can count on them for positive reviews, repeat bookings, and enthusiastic referrals. Building out an implementation strategy takes more investment than one-time presentations, but it can pay off big in the long run. The question is, are you going to take responsibility or just take people’s money?

Stepping Up as a Speaker

Let’s assume you’re going to take the responsibility route. You want your audience to succeed but aren’t sure how to support hundreds or thousands of people on a day-to-day basis. How do you help each one of them succeed? The short answer is, you don’t. Lasting change ultimately comes down to individual motivation, and you have no control over that. But you can provide your community with the right tools and processes to follow your example. When your audience leaves the conference hall or event space, they’re brimming with high hopes and anticipation. They’re ready for their lives to change, and they want to put in the work. But then Monday morning rolls around, bringing with it work deadlines, personal obligations, and a creeping lethargy that can make those vows seem like a dream from another lifetime. Here’s where you come (back) in. Once the applause and enthusiasm have faded, you can roll out the four Cs. These are the pillars of your long-term engagement strategy to bring lasting value to your tribe.

Content

"Once the applause and enthusiasm have faded, you can roll out the four Cs. These are the pillars of your long-term engagement strategy to bring lasting value to your tribe." You know good content is a must for a successful presentation, but are you giving people a roadmap for what to do with that content? Paint a destination for them during the talk, and then use follow-up emails, articles, and videos to provide the steps needed to get there. By breaking down what they need to do to reach the desired destination, you’re making change seem less overwhelming and more achievable.

Connection

This second C could also be community or competition because this pillar requires all three. If you know how event attendees are connected, you can use that information to build in motivation. Maybe they all work for the same company or are members in the same mastermind forum. Creating a little friendly competition through a digital leaderboard or public stats system is a surefire way to keep people on their games. No one wants to admit defeat to their friends or colleagues, and they’re more likely to stick with the program if there’s a sense of “We’re all in this together.”

Carrots

No matter how inspiring your content is, people need something tangible to work toward if they’re going to stick with your course or program. At some point, motivational blog posts simply won’t be enough. So how big is the carrot you’re offering? Does the challenge winner get a one-on-one coaching session with you? A free ebook? A ticket to a future event? It doesn’t have to be elaborate. The carrot’s appeal is all in the way you frame it. People love bragging rights and they love to win things. Give them a shot at both, and you’ll see steady participation throughout the program. Free giveaways and other incentives are also great ways to get event attendees to give you their contact information, which you can use to market future products to them.

Commitment

Engagement requires buy-in from both you and your audience. Let’s say there’s a speaker—we’ll call him Joe Schmoe—who typically speaks to corporate groups. He comes in, gives them a pep talk, collects their contact information, and occasionally sends out an email blast about a new event or product. More often than not, those messages are getting deleted or marked as spam. There’s simply not enough emotional or intellectual investment on either side to form a long-term relationship. On the other hand, you have Joe Leadership. When he speaks to audiences, he promises to walk them through the program, providing motivation, insight, and support at every step on the road to success. He paints a picture of the destination, sends carefully timed emails, and offers incentives for people who complete his challenges. Joe Leadership also gives a clear timeline for when the program will end and when participants can expect to see success. His engagement levels are going to be much higher than Joe Schmoe’s because he’s taken the time to build the relationship. Another benefit of engaging your audience is a better understanding of them. And the better you understand them, the more effective your marketing will be. You don’t want to send out emails first thing in the morning if your participants are too busy to read them. No matter how polished your video series is, it will fall flat if the sessions are too long or too boring. But if you figure out that a 30-second video followed by a stimulating question works for most attendees, you’re in business. It’s so important to build long-term commitment into your engagement strategy because you really want to stay top of mind after the initial speech or presentation. In addition to a course or program immediately following that first interaction, you can automate future follow-ups. ConveYour enables clients to schedule messages, such as quarterly check-ins or a 30-day email series, that reinforce the presentation material. Such campaigns remind people of their goals, and they’re nice opportunities to reconnect with them as potential clients. Taking responsibility for your event attendees’ success makes both ethical and business sense. If you’re a senior manager at a big company choosing a speaker to meet with your team, who would you choose – the guy who talks for 40 minutes, grabs his check, and walks out? Or the person who offers scaled, long-term consulting that every team member can access? That one-to-one interaction is so valuable, especially as companies seek to retain the human element in employee training. At ConveYour, we encourage people to get away from purely transactional coaching and rely more on nimble, personalized messaging. That’s not just a feel-good philosophy, that’s what makes trainings stick – and clients stick around.